Growing Beef Newsletter
September 2026, Volume 17, Issue 3
Iowa Grazing Academy Webinar Recordings Available
Shelby Gruss, ISU Extension Forage Specialist
The 2026 Iowa Grazing Academy has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean you missed out on all of the information. In person sessions, with the opportunity to walk in the pasture and forage crops as management practices have past, but the five virtual sessions were recorded and have been posted on the Iowa Beef Center YouTube channel! In all, the Iowa Grazing Academy Playlist is comprised of 14 videos, all building upon concepts as they were introduced in the series.
Topics begin with the basics of understanding different forage species, their growth patterns and how to utilize grazing or harvest management to encourage desired species to thrive. Later discussions highlighted animal nutritional needs, common toxicity concerns, designing the ideal grazing system for individual operation goals, managing fescue, and more.
In conjunction with the online sessions, five in-person sessions of the Iowa Grazing Academy were held this summer, giving producers the chance to take what they learned online and put it into practice in the field. Two of the sessions had focused on summer annuals within a grazing rotation, and the others were centered on more traditional cool-season pasture rotations. Summer annuals demonstrated a variety of mixes and species that could be integrated into your rotation. The other locations emphasized the producers watering systems, paddock design, and pasture forages utilized.
Across all in person sessions, producers worked through estimating biomass, guidelines for calculating grazing days, plant growth and regrowth patterns, and overall pasture management strategies. Additionally, fencing equipment and tools were displayed to demonstrate equipment that can be used to implement rotational stocking from the Iowa State Grazing Trailer. In-person participants at each event reported strong gains in knowledge reported across the board through meeting evaluations.
Check out the videos and we hope to see you at field days this winter and in the 2027 growing season!
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